Tuesday, February 17, 2009

tivo: good or evil . . .

so today . . . i realized that i am somewhat addicted to tivo. i'm not proud of it, but there it is.

tivo entered our lives a few years ago. we had heard others talk about the wonders of tivo, but for us, recording tv shows we didn't want to miss on video tapes seemed to be working--it was a little cumbersome, but it worked.

then the day came when we were going to have to replace the old VCR, so we started checking out the whole tivo thing and decided to give it a try. we started with one in the family room.

and then the angels sang!

i am telling you, it was like magic! it practically programmed itself. there was no more waiting to fast forward four hours into a tape to watch what you had recorded at the end. no popping tapes in and out of the machine. we could pause while watching live tv if we needed to leave the room. and instead of setting it to record at a certain date and time, we just chose the shows we wanted, and it would find them and record them no matter when they were on! it was so easy! so we got one for another room. and then, of course rollie needed one in the "man room." and THEN we learned that they could "talk" to each other through our network, which meant we could watch anything any one of the tivos recorded on any of the tvs. it was wonderful!

ok, now i know there are those of you are saying, "that sounds like an awful lot of tv." and it does. but we like to watch tv at our house. (we also like to read books and listen to music and talk to each other--oh yeah, and i like to play on my computer, usually while watching tv . . . ) but we seem to have a knack for liking shows that are: 1. cancelled after one season, OR 2. on at the same time as other shows we like to watch, OR 3. are just on too late for us to watch when we have to get up for work the next day. so for us, tivo gives us the flexibility to watch the shows we like when it is convenient for us.

but back to my addiction. over the weekend we got a tv for the family room, which meant all the tvs shifted, and their tivos along with them. this would have been done without incident, except the tivo we were planning to use in the family room didn't work with the new tv. so now, i sit in the family room watching a tivoless television. i know there is no tivo, and yet i keep reaching for the remote to zip through commercials, or pause it while i go to the kitchen, or to look at the online tv guide. i mean, i have to actually watch what is being broadcast and stay in this room if i want to see a show--it won't wait for me without tivo. and the commercials . . .

(rollie says don't worry--a tivo will soon appear here in the family room. of course, he says this to me from the man room, where tivo still rules . . .)

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm not completely sure there is anything worth paying any additional money for on tv!!! As for the man room...why in the hell do neither of our houses have a WOMAN room??? My man rarely uses his man room. I'm going to have to change that. The next time he's gone for a day or two I think I'll make a transformation! Tivo? maybe..

Anonymous said...

tivo is GOOD not evil you dont have to watch those stupid commercials, and when you have to go potty tivo waits for you you no longer wait for a commercial to go potty. i dont know how people can live without a tivo. its adriana again